Sheet dividing and compiling mechanism



July 21, 1931. .1. E. S ULL IVAN' S HEET DIVIDING AND COMPILING MECHANISM 5 sneets sheet 1 Filed July 25, 1930 Qwuentoc James E. Jul/Iran D a u WI :1 p a A N 3 o m. mu 3 a 3m w 0 July 21, 1931. J. E. SULLIVAN SHEET DIVIDING AND COMPILING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 25, 1930 July- 21, 1931.

J. E. SULLIVAN 1,815,744

SHEET D IVIDING AND COMPILING HECHANISII Filed July 25; 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jayme; E. Jullinn July 21, 1931. J. E. suLLivA'N 1,

7 SHEET DIVIDING AND COMPILiNG MECHANIS" I Filed July 25, 1930- 5 Sheets-Sheet- 4 July 21, 1931. J. a; SULLIVAN SHEET DIVIDING AND COMPILING MECHANISM Filed July 25, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I gwomto'a James Lisa/liven Patented July 21, i 31 JAMES E. sunuvsmbp mcmmm, *ofiio, As slofnosel i'rof'r'nn SULLIVAN: Terminus woRK's "coMPA'iv'YyoF 'cilvc'i'ivimtri, OHI 5A" CORPORATION F o1=r1o i srrnninfimvflanve' have: COM-FILING IMEOHA-NISM The present invention relates :to v a; compil 1 Y by uniform sheetsfeach printed 'With a "pl'urality of forms .are fed to a-ciitting device where "the sheets are" divided into smaller sheets which are depos ted 11pon -a conveyor havingan intermittent advancesynchronized Withtheratebfdeposit otthe small sheets so thatafterthe conveyor has received a deposited "sheet in superposed order at each stationalonfg thedelivery li'ne it will h aveproo e i-ly compiled-stacks cr me smallier' sheets for discharge atthe end or itstra velf I r g movement ofthe compiling inechanism lipon failureof feed of a l ar ge sheet to the cutter of the feed of sheets to thejcutter.

I These and otherobjects are attained by the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying d aw ngs, in vvhich F-ig. 11S aside elevation of the "driving sideof'thefdevice "oftheinvention; I I V {FigcQis a view" taken on line 22 of 'lfig-l. '3 is a view takenon line of Fig. :1.

Fig. 4"-is an enlarged viie w ofz a gripper forminga detail' of the invention. l

V Fig. is "a view taken onlihe lQf-LO: of Fig. 9." 1 i In the V presentinvention there is: provided a feed' tabIeQQO from vvhichalarge sheetsEEZl,

/ carried:therebywhile' thecutting takes place 7 whereupon .the,z;g 'rippers deposit the severed.

V V 7 Another object ofthe'inventi'oniisto pro-- vide 1 a'fnovel {means to automatically arrest Application filedifl'uly 25,1930. Serial no. 470,694;

portions upon aconveyor which; has an inter- E it '1 mittent movement equal to the vvidth of-one s'uc'h severed-portion. e The-effect of discharge 1 mg a series of monthly calendar or other sheets andthe intermediate shiftingof the receiving"conveyorefiects a simple andcertain compiling of the desired stack of sheets. v

i-tn automatioconveyor control governed by the presence o'r absence of one of the large sheets at the feed guides insures a perfect compilation even though "the operator or ai itomatic sheetfeeder employed may :fail."

A suitable standard or frame 23 carriesx'a suitabled'rivi-ng gear Qhwhi'ch in this emb0di-' .mentisf mounted 'onthe' shaft of an electric 'motor 25; The entire deviceisa'ctu'ated from c GearQ L this power source by preference. drives gear 26fixed on shaft 27 which intu'rn 1 isipivoted'to crank28 and to a:point 30:inter mediatethe ends of'leverarm 31. v This lever arm is pivoted at its-end 82- upon an" extension ofthe frame 23.1 i

"The lever arm servesasa means'to re-v ciprocatethegripper'carriage andito impart rotation in alternately j opposite directions to'the cutter shafts.

has crank28 secured'thereto." A pitman29 A link '34 is pivotedat' its one e'nd yto lever arm 31 and atits opposite end to an end 35 of the carriage 36 which is mounted by rollers 37 to ride upon the top plane edges of rack" members 88 which 'aregfixe'd ,upon suitable extensions 39 and 40 of the frame23. Pini0 ns- 41 are fixed on a revoluble shaft-42 journailed in the opposite sides of the carriage I and mesh with the teeth 43 on the lower side of each of the racks 38. The gripper car ria'ge is in this'waypower driven at each'end to effect a smooth uniform reciprocating.

movement, r I

A sliding rack 44 is attached at its: one end tothe carriage and as it reciprocates with the carriage it moves a gear 45 fixedonan extended portion of the lower cutter shaft 46 7 which also carries a, gear47 meshing with] gear 48 on Qupper cutter shaft 49. Aho'ld Cl'OWITWhGGl '50'on an extension of the upper shaft l9,--keeps:the rack44 in mesh/Withgear 51510 that bothcutter shaftsare power'driven alternately in opposite directions as the cari riage and its associated rack 44 are reciprocated by the lever arm 31.

g The shafts 46 and 49 are provided witha suitable number of pairs of complementary cutter or'slitter discs 51 which are removable and adjustable so that a sheet such as 21 may be divided into a desired number of smaller sheets22. V

The cutting or sheet slittingis effected by gripping the large sheet 21 with a pairof gripping fingers 52 and 53 (see Fig. 4) between each pair of slitter discs 51, said fingers v reaching between and beyond the shafts 46 and 49 and between adjac'entsets of slitter discs so that the sheet is gripped by the grippers in advance of the'slitters and is drawn between the slitters: to be divided .by them. The gripper fingers 52 and 53 retain their hold on the divided portion or-smaller sheet 22 as the grippers are moved away from the slitters and are finally opened to deposit the individual smaller sheets 22 in their original side by side (but now separated) relation 'upon a conveyor which has a stepwise transverse'movement relative to the initial line of movement of the sheets or portions 22 equal to the space betweenadjacent pairs of slitte rs.

, 'Before describingthe structure, actuation and control of the conveyor and grippers, 1t

' will be well to fully understand the operaguides on the feed table 20-just .in' advance The grippers (hereintion and effect of the structure thus far described.

Sheets 21 fed manually or by an automatic sheet feeder are positioned against suitable of the slitter discs; after morefully described) are moved by the carriage on its forward movement'to' reach between the shafts and the-several sets of Slit". ters to grasp the sheet 21' at a plurality of places such that each subsequently separated portion willbe within a pair of gripper fingers. The grippers retain their hold onthe sheet during the slitting operation which I takes place'as the slitters are rotated and the carriage effects its return movement away from the slltters.

The conveyor is at rest when the series of sheets or portions22 are deposited thereon.

The several sheets 22 may be the consecutive leaves of a: calendar pad of twelve monthly leaves or any portion ofsuch or another type of pad. By depositing the'severed series of leaves 22 onthe conveyor, then moving the conveyor fora distance equal to the width of one leaf it will beseen that subsequently slitted anddeposited sheets 22 will be built upon a sta'ok'and will contain the superposed sheets in the same'order or rotation as'thedifferent monthly sheets appeared on the large sheets 21. Obviously thestacksdischarged from the conveyor will 'be incomplete until the conveyor has advanced the number of steps equal to' the number of sheets 22 extending across sheet 21. Thus if the sheet 21 contains forms 7 for six sheets or leaves 22, the machinewill discharge uniform properly compiled stacks after the sixth advance of the conveyor until tively. The fingers 52 are each securely but adjustably mounted on bar-54 by means of a yoke piece 56 and a pair of bolts 57 which may pass through a pair of rectangular spacers 5 8.

The fingers 53 are each mounted ona block 59 by a pair ofscrews 60 which also pass through a companion block 61. The blocks 59 and 61 have between them a bore to receive shaft 55 and are additionally notched at 62 to provide a way which allows a key 63 in shaft 55 to have a limited amount of freeradial movement therein. The shaft 55 has fined thereon'a cam finger '64 having an antifriction roller 65 at the end. As the carriage reciprocates it moves' the cam finger beneath fixed. cam 66 at onelend of the frame and a movable cam 67 at the-opposite end. Engage 'ment of the roller 65 with such. cams imparts partial rotary movement to shaft 55 'so that. key 63'1nay'tilt the blocks'59 and '61 andraise thegrippingendof finger 53 againstthe re- 1 sistance of a spring 68 which'normal'ly retains the gripping ends of the fingers 52 and 53 in engagement. In order to permit the gripping fingers to close upon the sheet21 at the proper momentthe movable cam 67 is pivoted at 680 and has a lug 69 projecting beyond it to provide a pivotal mounting for an operating bar 70 which depends therefrom. A

rocker arm 71 is pivoted on the frame at 72 and has the operating bar pivoted to it intermediateits ends. A roller 73 on the endof arm 71 rides upon a cam wheel 74"which' is mounted on shaft 27. It-will be seen that an abrupt nose 75 on cam 74 willserve to lift the, cam 67 which had previously servedto hold the gripping fingers 52 and Y53 apart, and

allow thefingers totake holdof. a sheet 21 positioned on feed table 20. The operating bar'70 also has a link 76 connected to bell V crank 77 which carries a retiring guide 7 8,

which is moved down out of the path of the paper 21 when the grippers close on it. V

The cam 74 through operating bar 70 holds cam 67 out of operative position so that the grippers retain their hold on'sheet 21 as they are moved back by the carriage, and draw the sheet between the slitters discs. movement of the carriage causesth'egrippers to draw the now separatedsheets'or portions Continued 7 carriage'now returns estate 1 22 transverse1y a dress-the*conveyonuntil-r011 65 on'finger 6' 1 engages fixed cam 66 when the grippers openan'd Withdraw leaving the severalsheetsside by sideon' the conveyor. The

repeat the operation onithe next" sheet 21..

j The cohteyera'eensists 'essentially *in' a pair of parallelintermittently"actuated shafts 7 9 and 80' each c'arryinga suitablelc'losely, spaced series ofpulleys 8*l up'onwhich conveyor belts driven in unison t-rom a "sh-aft'ai83 fthrough'. miter 'ge'a'rs 84 andf85g "Onthe end of shaft .83 there is'pro'vide'd a" suitable means to secure intermittent unidirectional j rotation" of the shaf-t from ra reciprocating rack i 86'. 1 In this embodiment this intermittent motion is attained" anoverruiming clutch indicated gen'erallyfit 87,;(see FigS; 3, Band 6) This comprises a hange'dfdiso or' cup 88 "fmed on shaft '8'3 a'nd a ree 'disc 89 carryingv'e'ccentrio-rollers 90-011 s tud s dl which also secure gear 92'wvhich'meshes with rack 86. Light,

' springs93 urge the eccentric rollers to conforthe' rack '86 arrdi'a jroui nal for-shaft '88 and" the hub 94' of cup '88, An arcuaterpiece 'form' a" "split bearing 95may teaser-to "fjorthe latter. I

" tactthe inner periphery ofthe cup 88 so' that when 'rack 86imo'ves' in one direction disc 89' movess euer 90 *in *onedirectibn; and they merely drag lightly uponcup 88. When the rack '86 moves ini'airevers'e direction-the roll ersQQ i'm'inediately bind-upon the cup 8 8 and] fimp'art'tofshaft 8'3'the'm'ovem'ent ofgear 92.

A'neit'e'nsion980 bolted' on or integral with the frame of the inachlne' serves as a bearing 5 The 'ra'ck'SG has? with a pitmanj'97iwhiclrhas an iaccurately adj ustableeccentridmounting on discf'98 secured fo'izjrotati'on with hub -106.- The eccentric mounting. (seeFi'gs: 9Fa'ndi10) comprisesapair I of inverted V t shapeclinembersz 9,conveni entlyniadeoftyvo flatstrips, which serve to slid- 1 ably support an inverted T shaped' block 100 -f'or adjustment" d-iainetrically' across disc: 98. I v The'block carries an upr ightstud 1'01towvhich the-'pit'ni'ah 97 "is a ttachedc Ah, adjusting screw102'isrotatablymounted at itsop'posite end's'in'end pieces 103 and the threadsjengage inathr'eadedb o're in151001;100; Theend 105 of u'sting' screw 102 is adaptedto" receive a vvren'chor "other toolwhereby the "block, or morecspecificallyth e stud 101' ismcved" to the I -"desired distane fremthe center of the disc 98 to "regulate the"*'stroke of? the f pitinan '97 and ithe "racklso connectedthereto. This structure fmakesi possible exact intermittent advanceof the; conveyor belts for each turnerthe disesesrtvhich nake one' revolution for each complete reciprocation of the gripper'carriege. c a,

From the foregoing it will 'befn'oted that While the carriage is advancingto move the fingers forward the table 20, the conovvin'gthe grippers to stings-(1 ceniieotion' fat. 96

veyor inoves'one stepforvvard thus advancing;

tlie':prcviou sl'y deposite'dcut sheets 22 a dis tance equal to the Width of one of such sheets 22;,Y'Whenthe. grippers reach and gri'pi new sheet 2 1,the conveyor comes to restiand remains tsoixwhilethe sheet 21 is drawn;

through/the slitters and "the resulting out sheets 22 ;a:re"moved onto the conveyor. In; tlie case ofcalendar-padsthe'several months I I I Will bezprint'edacrossthe'large sheet 21 and the :same kind of sheet 22 (e. g. Jan, Feb,

Mar etc.).Wil1 alwaysfbe grasped by the same grippers and deposited in the same spot. relativeato-"thetop of the machine butthe stepwise movement'of the conveyor is such that' each previously deposited out shcet'or torin22 ivill havethe adjacent sheet or form; d

of aizsucceeding "sheet 21 deposited thereon.

Ifthe'conve'yor were to continue its step wisejoperationand the feed of sheet 21 should fail, the series-of compiled sheets would be disorganized, thus discharging a number of 'ihcompkt'estaCks equal to the number'df sheets-22 across the sheet'21 times then-umber ofrecip'rocations of tlieca1'r1age during vvhich nofe'ed took place; The means shown in Figs. .7 and 8 are automatically operable to--stop the advanceof the conveyor eachand every time there isnoxsheet 21 in position for. thei -grippers and to: automatically actuate the .1conveyor moving mechanism in proper 'synchronisrn as. soon as the feed of sheet 21 isresumed. This makes-1t impossibleforan. incorrectly or ncompletely compiled stack Of ShQGtSTQQjObQ made up on'the conveyor.

Asjshown'in Fig. and. 8- the shaft 27 has fixed 'thereonzadisc 107, the periphery of;

WhichprOVides-acam-108; and on the side of which isa dog 109 pivoted thereto on stud 110.

A'notcheddisc l-ll'whic'h has the hub 106 integral therewith isfreely rotatable on shaft 27 and is driven therewith Whenever dog 109 seats in the notch. The dogis urgedto e'ngage the notched disc 111 by spring 112 and a scam shoulder'113'on the dog raises alever 114 once every revoli'ltion of disc 107, by

means of a ro1ler'115 mounted-on stud 116] on said arm. t A pin-117 in thefra'me limits the downward movement of the 'armrll i, The device is shown in Fig. in position wherein a sheethas failed to feed to position aTnd t-he ,trip is just aboutto' render inopera-- I tive-the' disc 98" and its pitinan. Apivotally dog passes beneath -thei-r011er. 115. mechanism comprising a substantially, tri angular plate 120 pivoted on thesame stud 121 tvith -arr'n"118 has aifin'ger'122 which nor mally rests on .pi'n123 projecting from the side ofarm 118 whereby afeeler 124 having a :bell' crankrlever' connection with rod 125 may rise and descend due to the pivotal-connection of said rod with plate 120. The plate 1 has an adjustable counter-balance 126 so that the action of the feeler 124 is light enough to. 5;?l0e16tMCl8d by a sheet: of thin I paper. A ledge 127 on the feed table 20 has a slot or aperture at 128 so that when a sheet of paper.

such as 21 is pushed into position against the retiring guide 78, and the feeler descends 102- thereon, the paper will preclude the plate 120 and its finger 122 from'further descent and the cam shoulder 113 on dog 109 will merely raise the arm 1145 without disturbing the driving relation'of the dog with notched disc 153111.. If,;however, there is no sheet in posi-' tion on the feed table, the feeler Will" drop below the ledge 127 and tip the finger 122 downwardly into the path of the shoulder 129 on the end of arm 1141 and oifer a solid 202 resistance to movement of the arm whereupon the action of the cam face 113 on thedogwill be to raise the dog from its driving relation with the notched disc against theresistance of spring 112. The notched disc 111', sleeve or hub 106 and disc 98 will then stop and no furtherimovement can be imparted to the conveyorbecause pitman 97 partakes of the 'movement of disc98. A constantly dragging brake B may act on disc 98 if desired The' arm 118 however, continues to riseand fall due to its relation with the continuously I moving disc 107." As arm 118 rises it also to with'notched disc 111 sothat the conveyor movement isagain established in perfect synv chronism.

Since all moving parts receive their power through shaft 27 and the pitman 97 can be actuated only when dog 109 engages the single notch in the disc 111 there is no danger of disturbing the perfect functioning of the machine either by stopping the motor 25 or because of the failure of thefeed of sheets The machine as a whole is compact and requires a floor space which is but little greater than the area of two of the'maximum size of sheet 21 to be cut upand compiled thereby. It will be understood that the conveyor may 7 53 be built to extend toa greater distance in the direction of its discharge end if desired.

The number and spacing of the slitters on shafts 46'and 49 and the adjustability of the pitman 97 on disc 98 render the machine C3 adaptable to a variety ofsizes of work.

What is claimed is: v 1. In a device for dividing and compiling sheets the combinationof a feed table,a series 1 of cooperating slitters, a conveyor arranged f for intermittent movement transversely of isi 5.744

the cuttingline of the slitters,- a carriage reciprocable transversely above the conveyor,

normally closed grippers mounted on the carriage and movable between adjacent slitters to grasp a sheet positioned on the feedtable and means to first open and then close the grippers adjacent the slitters and to again open the grippers adjacent the remote SldQ'Of the conveyor for depositingthe severed portions of the sheet upon the conveyor.

2. In a device for cutting and compiling smaller sheets from large sheets the combination of a feed table, a pair of slitter shafts disposed one above and one below the planeof the forward edge of said table and parallel therewith, slitter discs on said shafts, recip rocating rippers movablebetween the shafts and slitters to and from the edge of the feed table and a conveyor having. intermittent stepwise movement and movable at each step a distance equal to the distance between the slitters parallel to and adjacent the slitter shafts for receiving the severed portions from the grippers.

3. In combination aseries of spaced slitter discs for dividing a sheet into a plurality of uniform smaller sheets, a conveyor movable intermittently transversely to the lines of the severed edges of the sheets and movable each time a distance equal to the distance be-'; $5

tween the slit-ters and. gripper means reciprocable overthe conveyor between adjacent slitter discs and. actuatable to grasp a sheet, draw it between the slitter discs and deposit the uniform smaller sheets on the conveyor J: in the same relatlon ilhZLi'LSfllCl sheets had be fore severance. 1

4. The method of compiling aplurality of sets of printed formscomprising printing the several forms in'the'desired sequence 32:;

across the Width of each of a plurality of large sheets, then dividing the forms by a 7 simultaneous series of longitudinal cuts through said large sheets, thenvdepositing the severed forms in undisturbed side by side 7?. relation upon a shiftable surface, shifting the surface laterally for a distanceequal to the width of. one of said severed forms and repeating all of said operations on successive sheets whereby successive stacks of assorted forms are built upon the shiftable surface, each form in each finished stack having been taken from a different one of the large sheets.

5. In a device of'the class described the combination of a pair ofavertically spaced parallel slitter shafts, spaced cooperating slitter discs on the shafts, a feed table at one side of said shaft, a conveyor at the *other side of said shafts, gripper means movable in opposite directions between the shafts and over the conveyor, means toope'n and close the gripper means adjacent thetableand to open said'gripper. means adjacentthe remote side of the conveyor, means to imp art intermittent unidirectional movement tofthe conveyor,

r e I igsi-avaa 7 each movement equal to the distance between the slitters, afeeler, operative adjacent the edge of the feed table and movablebelowi veyor moving means, a connection between.- "the feeler and said driving means whereby continuously reciprocated. 15

the plane of the table when no sheet is'in position for the grippers, means to drive the conthelatter is disconnectedfrom the conveyor moving means whenthe feeler'moves below the plane of the table, inechan'ism. whereby ,7 the said driving relation is reestablished; upon resumption of feed of sheet to the grippers and means whereby the grippers are 6. In a device of the class described the combination of a feed table, retiring guides intermittently projecting above the forward edge of the table, a conveyor, means to move 1 the conveyor intermittently in a direction crosswise of the front of the table, continu-' ously operatin slitters disposed between the table and conveyo-r,,each conveyor movement equal to the distance between adjacent slitters, gripper meansreciprocating continuously between the slitters and over the conveyor,

I means controlling the action of the grippers vwhereby a sheet positioned at the front of the tablemay be grasped by the grippers and drawn through fth'e 'slitters and then deposited upon the conveyor, means to drive the conveyor moving means in synchronism with the advance of the'grippers, a disabling mechanism for said drive means, a feeler operating at the front of the table for restraining the disablingmeans when it contacts a properly fed sheet and releasing the dis abling means to stop the drive on't-he conveyor moving means upon failure of feed of a sheet, the feeleragain automatically restraining the disabling means upon encountering a sheet. I g r i :7. Ina device of theclassdescribed the combination of a supporting frame, a power driven shaft ournalled in said frame, a pair offixed racks supportediby the frame, a car- 'riage comprising a pair of members having ftractional mounting on one side of each rack,

a-shaft journallediin said members and having pinions thereon meshing with the racks, 'a pitman actuated from the power driven shaft and operative through a lever armj for reciprocating the carriage members on their mountings, a movable rack connected to the carriage, a pair of slitter shafts, a pinion on one of said slitter shafts meshing with the rack, a pair of intermeshing gears carried by 5 I said slitter shafts whereby the slitter shafts are rotated in o-pposite'directions upon movement of the rack by said carriage, pairs of complementary slitter discs .on the slitter shafts, normally closed gripper means on the carriage adapted oneeach to pass between and beyond said shafts and, each pair of adjacent slitter discs,a feed table 7 adjacent s'aid forward limit of movement 10f? ltlie grippers, retiring guides forr pocsitioning a sheet of paper to be slit withinthe 7 reach of 1 said grippers, movable 1 means advance of the carriage and grippers and means: ad acent the return l1m1t of the carri rg'e for opening the grippers to release the severed sheet for deposit upon the conveyor. -85 In a controlfor a stepwise moving automatically compillng conveyor the combina- 1 tion of a feedtable andguides, an apertured ledgeon the table, a pivotally mounted bell crank lever comprising a. feeler. member movable through the aperture/1n the ledge inthe absence of a sheet tobe operated upon and sustainedfby 'saidsheet when properly positioned, 'slitterfmechanism, a gripper mecha- "nismrfor grasping sheet on the ledge and drawing it through the slitters to dividethe sheet andfordepositing the severedi sections upon the conveyor, lntermittent idrivlng mechanism for advancing the conveyor a'predetermined. distance while thergripper mechanism is advancing-to grasp. a sheet, said mechanism being inoperative on the conveyor during deposit ofthe severed sections of the Sheet on theconveyor, and means connected r withithe bells crank lever for completely. disabling ,the,conveyor-m oving means upon descentof. the feeler through the aperture in the lodge andmeanswhereby the'feel'er is automatlcally raised during each forward movementiofthe grippers, whereby the disabling. mechanism may be restrained upon insertion r of, a sheet andthe conveyor drive is. automaticallyresumed; in synchronism with. the carlt agemovement. A

'9. In a device for disablingiaacompiling mechanismupon failure of: a supply offsheets and for automatically actuating the compil- I ingjlmechani'sin upon renewal of the feed of sheets, the combination of a power driven shaft, a disc fixed on the shaft and having 'a dog pivoted on the face thereof, a notched disc freely revoluble on the shaft and normally constrained to rotation with the shaft through the agency of the dog, an integral hub on the notched disc, a third disc fixed on said hub, a pitman eccentrically connected to said third disc, a pivoting arm provided with a roller intermediate its ends for en,-

countering the dog as it rotates with the first disc whereby said arm is normally oscillated onits pivotal mounting, said arm also, having anotch in the end thereof, a"

secondarm having an end adapted to ride upon the periphery of the first disc, said periphery being cut away at one place to effect movement of the second arm about its LEO pivot, apin on said second arm, a finger having an independent pivotal mounting on the same axis with the second arm, apivotally mounted feeler associated with asuit- Y able feed table and adapted to be sustained by a sheet to be operated upon and a connec-.

tion between said pivot ally mounted feeler and I said finger whereby, upon failure of the feed of sheets the'feeler may descend and move the finger into the path of the notch in the a first mentioned arm whereby said arm is restrained against movement by the dog and effects an unseating ofthe dog in the notched disc whereby the third disc and its associated pitman are released from driving relation, with the shaft.

10. In a device of the class described the combination of a pair of shafts for supporting a conveyor, miter gears 011 said shafts, a third shaft, miter gears on said third shaft engaging one each with the miter gears on the conveyor shafts, apinion freely mounted on said third shaft, a reciprocating rack meshing with said pinion, an over-running clutch comprising one member. fixed on the third shaft and a companion member fixed on the pinion whereby continuous movement of the rack in opposite directions serves to impart intermittent unidirectional movement of the conveyor shafts, a pitman connected at its one end to the shaft, a'disc having the opposite end of vthe Lpitman eccentrically mounted thereon, continuously reciprocating I gripper means for receiving sheets and depositing them on the conveyor, a feed table for said sheets, a feeler adapted to cont-act each sheet as the grippers advance to receive it, means controlled by the feeler for'automatically disabling the pitman upon failure of a sheet on the feed table, said means comprising mechanism for' intermittently lifting the feeler to restrain the disabling mechanism upon resumption of feed of sheets to the grippers.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 18th da of July, 1930.

JAMES E. ULLIVAN. 

